Replica Titanic

There have been several proposals and studies for a project to build a replica ship based on the famous Olympic-classocean liner, RMS Titanic. A project by South African businessman Sarel Gaus was abandoned in 2006, and a project by Australian businessman Clive Palmer was announced in 2012, known as the Titanic II.

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In 1989, Popular Mechanics magazine explored the feasibility of such projects, in consultation with Neil Gallagher of the Webb Institute.[1] The article discussed the significant changes to the original design required to produce a safe and economically viable ship. Most of the changes would appear below the water line:

Diesel electric generation and propulsion would free up the cavernous space used by Titanic’s 159 coal furnaces and 29 boilers

Vacated space could be used for waste processing, water treatment, and air conditioning.

Extra funnels not needed for diesel generator exhaust would be dummy funnels. The economic feasibility was more uncertain. The engineering challenges would drive the construction costs to approximately twice the cost of a modern cruise ship.

South African businessman mogul Sarel Gous proposed building Titanic II in 1998. Gous said he had got hold of the original drawings for the famous ship and now wanted to fulfill his dream. If the ship had been completed, she would have had a length of 290 metres and a width of 33 metres, making her the largest cruise liner in the world.[2]

Gous originally considered constructing the ship in Durban, South Africa. Having commissioned a feasibility study into the project with Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast,[3] he presented the proposal to Belfast City Council in June 2000. The project was priced at around £500 million.[4] In November 2000, Gous signed an agreement with a Monaco-based firm to finance the construction of the ship. He stated that construction would begin within the next nine months.[5] The brand name of the company that would operate the Replica Titanic was to be the White Star Line, acting as a revival of the now defunct shipping line.

From the outset the intention was to build an exact copy but with enough lifeboats. Due to SOLAS regulations, this proved to be impossible to meet. Modern fire-prevention regulations prohibit the large-scale use of wood in the interior.[6] It is also no longer legal to have lifeboats mounted as high as they were on Titanic. Standards now require that life boats be mounted no higher than 15 m (49 ft) above the waterline. A replica Titanic would require a height exemption similar to that granted the RMS Queen Mary 2.

In 2006 the Replica Titanic project was scrapped due to high costs and a low amount of support for the project.[7][8] The last Titanic survivor, Millvina Dean, had expressed her opposition to the project.[9][dead link]

On 30 April 2012, Australian billionaire Clive Palmer announced a project to build a near replica of the Titanic.[10][11] The maiden voyage was scheduled for 2018. The ship would be as close as possible in design to the original Titanic, but underneath would be a ship of modern specifications with stabilisers, diesel electric propulsion (utilising Azimuth thrusts) & the health and safety features found onboard modern cruise vessels.

Marine engineering company Deltamarin was hired to design the ship.[12]

According to the general arrangement published on 17 July 2012,[13] the length of the replica is the same as that of the original ship, but it will be 4.2 metres (13 ft 9 in) wider and its draught will be smaller by 3 metres (9 ft 10 in). The lower deck cabins are said to be "typical for a modern cruise vessel" while cabins and public rooms from D deck upwards are "as in the original ship".[14]

As of 2015, design work on the ship was on hold and it was unclear whether the project would proceed.[15]